


Our El Rey

by Acrystar



Category: From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series
Genre: Bisexual Male Character, Brother/Brother Incest, Heavy Angst, Heterosexual Character, M/M, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Past Drug Use, Post-Canon, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:33:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26470441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acrystar/pseuds/Acrystar
Summary: They fought Amaru and they had won. And what do they do now? They are back again the Gecko's outlaw brothers! Appart Kate is one of them now, Richie is a Culebra and Seth is drowning into his troubles...
Relationships: Richard Gecko/Seth Gecko
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

They are back together, and they saved the world from hell and demons! No one would believe it, but they won't brag about it because they are no saint! They are robbers, murderers, and kidnappers! Gecko only means troubles and bad decisions; thus, they cannot be saviors, plus, being heroes don’t feed them!  
So, they stopped the world’s doom and are now alone with Kate. Culebras, or the few who survived the apocalypse, chose to believe in their Goddess and took the south’s roads to establish a new place for them to leave peacefully. Without the Elders, Richie had no more the desire to stay where they were. They lost everything with their deaths, even their precious nest, and their more trustful assistants. Sometimes, Seth misses the Culebra he so much called “young man” or “boy” to toy with his old bones.  
Without the Elders, El Rey is nowhere to be found. Seth asks himself if it was even real, in the first place, or something intangible and never obtained physically. For all he knows, El Rey could be a person or even an artifact! Culebra cannot be trustworthy unless they are called Richard Gecko!

Consequently, they got to choose what to do with their life, and since Richie had free himself from Satanico’s servitude and odd love, he didn’t go with her. He had stuck with his brother, and Seth is glad Richie had come to his senses! Sure, his little brother is no more a human, but he’s the brother he had lost in their search for El Rey. This place must be doomed, they almost die into searching for it, or maybe they cannot pretend to gain it even after saving the world!  
  
Seth breaths sharply, waking up in the middle of the night. You cannot travel through hell without bringing back some nightmares. They are always about Richie. About losing him or seeing him fall into madness and being coerced to kill him, about the months he used drugs because he felt alone and left behind, or about him leaving Richie to his fate when he dropped his gun while Kate went through the portal. Then it closed itself, engulfing his baby brother forever. Today was the last one.  
Richie came back. Anyway, he cannot forgive himself because he chose everyone's safety over Richie. If he had had enough guts, he should have gone with Kate and have taken the risk to be trapped, only to be with Richie and protect him. Tonight, shame and guilt are devouring his mind. He can't find sleep and keeps rolling onto the sheets. Consequently, the person on the couch straightens up and looks at him. 

"What’s wrong?”

He can leave his guilty hands for a few seconds as his eyes scan Richie's silhouette under the moonlight. Seth wonders if Richie can still sleep because he never wishes to know about Culebras. Feigning to understand them is easier for his peace of mind. Anyway, it still is Richie. He is, even more, Richie than the one who killed innocent people when he was still a human and losing his mind! Seth closes his hands and sighs. He can pretend everything is back to normal. They can tag along and hide everything else! They can... Yet, Seth has no more strength to do it. He turns his back to his brother hiding from Richie’s gaze because Seth doesn’t know if the Culebra his brother is, can still read people’s minds, and he won't take the risk! What if Richie thinks about leaving him because he was ready to abandon him in Xibalba for that shitty world’s sake?

“Nothing…”

They should forget the last years and everything else… That's why Seth chooses to go back to their old life. Despite the difficulty of it, because Richie is now a Culebra and has some obstacles with daylight. They tried to sneak into a bank after sunset, but they failed, even with Richie’s Culebra strength because banks are fortress at night. Anyway, it’s no fun without the thrill and the guns of the daylight. Seth tries to leave everything back, but he cannot go past Richie’s pain when sunlight reaches him or when he fumes as if he can go into self-combustion. Scratch that, he can!

Richie and Seth are again bickering at each other, and she doesn’t understand why. Over the last weeks, it happens more and more, yet, they share the same old life they always had with guns, robbery, and thrill. So, what are their problems? It’s not as if Richie wanted to leave again or if she mingles in their problems! Once, she found Richie attractive, bad boy, and dangerous, before she saw the madness into his eyes. Then she was attracted to Seth, because into the hell and back, he made her safe, he protects her. If she is still alive now, it’s only because of him. She felt even more when she saw the devastation in his eyes when Richie left with Satanico. She drowned into his sorrow and desperation, witnessing his fall as the needles tore into the flesh of his arms. The feeling is lost and gone because there is no room left into Seth’s heart.  
In the end, Kate couldn't love them because Seth is the only reason her dad is dead, and her brother’s a vampire, or whatever they called themselves. She owes him her life but also her doom.

She yawns, looking at the two brothers with conflicted feelings. Then something clicks into her brain, and she can’t help a laugh then another as she bends on herself because she couldn’t stop herself from laughing out loud. They are hilarious!

“What the fuck, Kate?”

Seth looks at her, apparently annoyed by the way she is clearly mocking them. Richie’s eyes are so dark and wicked that someone sane enough would stop laughing on the spot, but she isn’t sane anymore! She got an underworld Goddess as room-mate into her own body!

“Will you do us the favor to share with us why you are laughing like that?”  
“No, it’s nothing! Sorry about that!”

She won’t tell because she can imagine what they’ll both say if she ever mentions they bicker the same as her parents used to! She suppresses a new giggle as she straightens up before she frowns because something is bothering her. Something is clawing its way into her brain and memories. It happens sometimes. She can remember things she shouldn’t because she wasn’t there, things the Goddess saw and had done. She is missing something here, and she can’t help a dull look at the two brothers. They are looking back suspiciously, Richie still mad and Seth more and more worried.

“Are you ok?”  
“Yeah, sorry! Anyway, guys, stop yelling like that at each other. You’re annoying! Only girls have the right to bitch like that, and you definitely are no girls at all. Stick together or get laid!”

She smiles when her words register into Seth’s brain, and she can discern what she was looking for. She sighs, nothing should surprise her anymore! She saw vampires or snake-vampires, and even killed her father after he was turned! Her brother turned too and forgot his human soul until she found him back. She saw underworld gods and fought demons from the Mayan’s hell or whatever old civilization they came from! Moreover, one of these goddesses possessed her dead body, and when she was Amaru's puppet, she killed so many people! That's why nothing should surprise her anymore, moreover from the Gecko brothers! She still doesn't know if she should do something with this information, but right now, she needs some peace!

“Don’t go doing something reckless while I take some rest!”

She closes her bedroom door with a loud thud then falls on her bed headfirst. Yeah, something is clawing in her head, and she can see some fragments of Amaru’s life when she lost her mental fight against Richie. It was an idiotic move. No one can push the Gecko brothers to kill each other, even harm each other if they don’t want to do it in the first place. Trying to turn Richie against Seth was her biggest mistake because they stuck together even more!

While Kate is speaking about the next town they could rob, Richie studies his brother because something is off with him. Seth seems ill. They are on the run since their last bank robbery, they are used to it, but Seth cannot sleep at night and drinks too much. He almost lost his appetite. Richie’s right-hand grabs him by the wrist when Seth stumbles on the rug as he was reaching for his beer.  
Since Xibalba, Seth stopped being the caring and overprotecting big brother. Even if he chooses to hide the truth, Richie is now something that can possibly kill him with one finger. He already left him because Richie was fed-up to be the baby brother and wanted to be himself, to do something alone and free… Seth cannot lose him a second time, and Kate won’t be able to patch him if Richie leaves again. If he loses Richie this time, no drugs will be enough to stitch the bottomless hole because of the staining guilt. Because Richie left, yes, but he came back to him and had stuck with him since then.  
Seth thinks about all the way Richie could have found to get him to kill their friends when Amaru had played with his brain! The bitch had lost the fight because Richie stayed faithful to his brother, even in his madness. He didn't use his power to control Seth's mind, nor did he turn him. And what did Seth have done to him? He dropped his gun and let Kate closed the gate!

He cannot look at Richie's face, even if he knows his baby brother is eyeing him with attention. When Kate had discerned what was happening, she stopped speaking. She studies the two brothers because Seth is trembling like when he was a junky. He seems ill or unwell, and she wonders if he uses drugs again. She knocks her fist on the table, looking at the older Gecko.

“Are you using drugs again?”  
“What do you mean by _using drugs_?” Richie’s eyes go from his brother’s face to Kate with a sharp cutting motion.  
“Oh? Weren't you aware? When you left with Satanico, he started cocaine. That was one of the reasons I left him. I stayed with him for the thrill and because I thought I needed someone to protect me and to find Scott. And that someone was destroying everything he touched. So, I ask you, Seth, are you using drugs again?”

God! Richie doesn’t need to know. Drugs were the only topic they never agree on. Richie rejects everything about it and always disliked Seth when he took some. One day, Richie punched him until he lost consciousness, and Seth found himself bound on a bed with a crazy little brother bend over him. That day he made a promise. He broke it only when he though Richie was dead.  
Thinking about the void in his heart and head at that moment, his free hand brush against the tattoo, and under it, the holes, Richie, or the thing that wore Richie’s skin, left. He really thought Richie was dead, that the Culebra wasn’t his brother anymore. 

"Kate, get out!”  
“What?”  
“Get the fuck out, _right now_ …”

Richie’s voice is cold, too unfriendly, and as sharp as a blade. Kate immediately understands something is off, and the brothers need some privacy. She doesn’t know how the brothers reunite themself, because she had left Seth without looking back and had a brother to fight for. That's why she believed Richie had known, or at least the brothers had talked about it! Yet, if it can help Seth, she's glad the truth is revealed!  
She sighs, takes some money, and leave the brothers alone. She may flirt in the bar if she finds some company, or she’ll text her own brother to know how Scott is doing so far.

“Did you really break that promise you made?”  
“It didn’t matter. You left, no, you died! I was sure you were… no more. You attacked me, and you left with her… I wanted to kill every fucking lizardman I found! That all that mattered, killing them until I could kill you or kill myself…”

He still cannot look at his brother's face. Because he fears what he can see in his eyes. Richie always had expressive eyes, so he fears witnessing disillusionment and disappointment, or worse, revulsion because Richie finds him weak and disgusting. They should forget and leave everything behind!  
The hand that kept his wrist tightly bound felt suddenly gentler because Richie’s thumb strokes his skin tenderly. He though Richie would be cold, but he isn’t. He feels human and warm to the touch. Finally, Seth finds the courage to look at Richie’s face, and he discovers no judgment in his eyes, only a deep concern.

“I got a Goddess in my head. I wasn’t sane. I never was in the first place, but back then… it was worse. I needed to stay away from you because you couldn’t face it, and it was the only way I found. I may not be a human anymore, but I’m still your brother, and I still care. Do you still use drugs?”  
“No.”

It feels nice to listen to those words because those last years were too much for his sake, and Seth is totally lost. He cannot pretend everything is back to normal because it’ll never be the case. When the nightmares leave him alone for a night, he saw himself dying and leaving Richie to his eternity, all alone. He’s a bastard to think this is no nightmare because it is, even without the blood and gore! Richie won’t age, he won’t die if no one kills him, and one day, Seth won’t be here anymore. He will leave Richie alone, and Seth tries his best to think it doesn’t bother Richie because he proves himself to be able to live without him. But maybe Richie is hiding how he really feels. Seth wishes to read his mind, to know what Richie is thinking, wants, and wishes…  
Seth is not the type of person to go all emotional, but the last weeks were hard enough, and the lack of sleep is putting him on the verge of sanity. He breaks into tears as soon as he lost the fight against his own body.

“What’s wrong?”  
“Everything, every fucking thing! It’ll never be the same again, and I’m tired to pretend. I just want to sleep a fucking entire night, but I’m not even sure I still can be myself after all of that mess. I can’t pretend anymore... I’m going to put a bullet into my fucking head!”

Seth is the more human of them because he feels and loves! Richie wonders if his brother would be happy with a regular life if he wasn’t born a Gecko. What sort of life could he have? What sort of man could he be? Richie is not sure to be able to picture it. Richie never wanted another life for himself because he is a killer and a predator, even before he got his fangs! Seth worries him, but since he left his knife behind, he cannot look into Seth’s brain. However, something is off with Seth for a very long time. He though their old way of life would help, yet, it’s not helping at all, as the man is now crying like he never saw him cry since their mother left, one night, after too many beatings. Richie may not be able to be perfectly sane, but Seth is essential to his life. So, he opens his left hand, glancing briefly at the eye there.  
He always swears to himself he wouldn’t use his power on Seth, but he needs to do it now. Seth is confused by the odd eye moving toward his face, but he doesn’t even try to escape from it.

“Shush. Come on, you need some rest. Sleep peacefully, no nightmare will come.”

He observes Seth trying to fight back his power. He can sense fright, as if Seth was afraid, he’ll make him do or say something against his will. So, he caresses Seth’s hair with an honest smile on his lips, the same smile only Seth can see because he cannot smile for anyone else in this world. Only Seth, because only Seth is important, only Seth can make him feel... human, even now, as a Culebra.

“Don’t. I won’t do anything to you, have faith, just sleep. We’ll speak tomorrow.”  
“Promise.”  
“I promise. Let me enter and sleep.”

Whatever resistance Seth was summoning is now disappearing. For some seconds, Richie senses so much turmoil into Seth’s psyche, he has got a lot of trouble to give some peace to his older brother. But when everything is calm, he stops the contact. Seth is a zombie, eyes glassy as some deadlights. Richie asks for his brother to go to sleep and follows every step he took toward his bed. Then, he helps the man to lay down, puts some sheets over his body, and asks him to close his eyes. He really tries to keep the link as discreet as possible, even if he is worried about Seth. He doesn’t pry because that’s how it should be. Seth trusts him, and it’s more important than everything.  
Richie isn’t an idiot. He knows Seth is not comfortable with his Culebra's parts and powers, as he understands Seth is doing his best to look at him as if nothing happened. Richie had even tried to comfort him into his denies. Anyway, he had made a terrible mistake. He saw hell, he feeds on blood, he cannot age anymore… nothing can change that! He’s still Seth’s baby brother, but he always was the one who took care of Seth. He killed their father. He had let Seth having his big bro’s role, but Richie is now more powerful and deadly than Seth would never be. He kisses his brother’s forehead. Things will need to change drastically, for Seth’s sake and for his.

“I called Scott. He will be here in a minute.”  
“But…” Kate pouts a little, she doesn't like to be told what to do, and Richie does know it!  
“We need some alone-time, Kate. I’ll patch him, and you’ll come back. From now on, Scott will keep an eye on you. You’ll be safe with him.”  
“Don’t go doing some stupid things, ok?”  
“We won’t… we…”

Seth can hear everything, but he can hardly move or do something against his apathetic state, so he steadies himself with some difficulties. He feels like a zombie, and it’s because he can hear Richie’s voice, he is not panicking. He looks at Kate and Richie, attempting to gather their words, trying hard to understand what’s going on, but Richie asks him to lay down.

“What have you done?”  
“He needs some rest.”  
“Are you fucking with his brain?”  
“He lets me.”

Kate is doubtful for a moment. She sighs, coming next to Seth and helping him to bed. She cannot stand that image because she had someone in her head, and it wasn’t a nice feeling. Sure, Richie didn’t try to mess with Seth’s brain, or she hopes so! But if he does it, Culebra or not, she’ll spank that dishonest snake to the underworld, or until he freezes cold about blood loss! Someone sane enough wouldn’t dare to stand ground face-to-face with Richie, wouldn’t dare to yell at him nor to slap his face, but she isn’t sane anymore! She cut her way through gore and blood with a fucking chainsaw!  
When she decided to join them, she knew she wouldn’t really be a part of their duo. She had to prove herself days after days because the Gecko worked best together, but she won their trust and affection to some extent. Kate is now a Gecko, and part of their team but not as a sister! Anyhow, she hadn’t signed to be their babysitter nor their mother! But that’s what she is now! She’s scolding them daily, she’s the one to ask them to stop being dicks or kids, she’s the one to give slaps when they are too dumb as to go past her rules. She took their way of living, but she doesn’t want them to be murderers. Thief isn’t a bad way of living. Robbery has many good liberties, but killing innocent people, even hurting them, is intolerable. Because Kate knows what it is to have a gun pointed to her head when she was still a good little Christian girl!

“Don’t break him, I think you don’t even know how much you can hurt him.” And that's right because Kates knows something Richie doesn't, but it's not her duty to say it out loud.  
“I know.”  
“No, you don’t know, Richie! Don’t even dare to say you know because you weren't there, you didn’t saw him. I was the one to find him almost dead each fucking night or morning! I was the one to listen to his drug-induced hallucinations! You don’t know shit, Richie! I can give you some privacy, only if you promise you’ll take a break from violence and troubles, at least until he’s back again to be himself. Too much happened, even a big Gecko guy can be hurt, Seth even more. Can you… you know, read his mind?” Richie seems surprised about her bubbling rage. Yes, Seth is dear to her, but not in the way Richie is thinking about.  
“No… yes, but I won’t.”  
“Can he hear me, even in this state?”  
“He can.”  
“Ok, give us some privacy here, I need to tell him something.”

She needs to send a dark look toward Richie and an accusing finger to make him move. Before sitting next to Seth, Kate waits for Richie to exit their motel room and close the door behind himself. Riche doesn't have to know if it isn't Seth's wishes, she'll respect that decision. Her fingers are playing with the black curls of his hair, and she likes how soft and endearing it is.

“You had spoken a lot through your drug-induced hazes, so, I know what’s going on in your brain. I’m no priest and not a saint anymore, but I forgive you. Speak with your heart and soul, Seth. Nothing will possibly be wrong if you’re trustful with yourself. I saw the good in you, even before I killed people. I felt for you and for Richie’s too because I can see behind his cold madness. He still feels because of you. You saved his soul, Seth, now save yours. I loved you, Seth.”

Kate brushes his forehead with a smile and her lips as her mother used to when she was a little girl. She knows Seth didn't had that, the lovable family she had the chance to live with, and she wants to give him some tenderness. She kisses his lips, and even in the blue and empty gaze, she can grasp Seth is aware of her presence and words. He may be unable to speak, but he closes his eyes, and she crushes the tears he cannot hold back.

“I think it was meant to be. Only you and Richie could have saved us from worse evil than you. As it was meant for Richie to change into a Culebra because _you are Gecko_. That’s why I forgive you.”

She draws a cross sign on Seth’s forehead. She’s not her father, but today, she hopes he gives her his blessing because that’s what needed to be done. Seth is not a good man, but he could be worse, far worse because he was living through a long, dark, and sinful path since his youth. He was left only with a little brother sick in his head, a brother he never left behind and never wanted to! A lot of good Christians would have done it, seeing only the devil into Richie’s eyes and condemning him for it. But Richie was part of someone else’s plan to save humanity, and they should thank Seth for their salvation as he kept Richie on their side. Vampire or not, Richie fought for them. As a matter of fact, he deserves his El Rey, like Seth. And maybe it’s only here at their fingertips if it’s in their heart to fight for it! They could go back to their old life and stay blind to their redemption, or they could go for it.

“El Rey is here… find it.”

She kisses his forehead, leaving a troubled man trying to mutter something, but she doesn’t try to read his lips because she hears the roaring motor of Scott’s bike. It’s still dark, so they’ll need to ride fast if they want to be safe before the sunrise. She opens the door, doesn’t even look at Richie while she runs to Scott because it’s been a while!

“Scott!”

She takes the helmet her brother gives her with the same old gentle smile she was used to. He missed her. They share a friendly insult then she rides the bike, looking at Richie in the process. She calls the youngest Gecko's name before he can enter back into the motel room.

“If you need me, call me. If you never need me again, I’ll live with it. I’m pretty sure this new band needs a manager, what do you think about that, Scott?”  
“Don’t, you’re going to ruin it!”  
“I’m going to save it, fuckhead, think about all the advertisings I can do!”  
“Do you know, I actually use it to… feed?”  
“Yeah! Think about it, redemption songs for broken souls, Christian metal band to forgive every sin… Your… El Rey!”

The name snaps Richie’s attention back to her. She nods to him as she puts the helmet on.

“Some people are meant to find it, only if they really try hard, don’t they, Richie? But most of them will go through their lives, searching forever for it in all the wrong places until their death. You should definitely help them in that matter, Scott!”  
“El Rey?”  
“Yeah! I’m pretty sure it could be the name of a nice album.”  
“Why not… Then, off we go! If you ever want to come and see us, feel free to do so. Gecko brothers are now part of the family! See you!”

Richie frowns, looking at the bike. It's like a farewell, well, it sounds like it, in Kate’s words, even if it could mean " _see you soon_ " too as if they’ll cross path in another life. He lifts his shoulders nervously but gets back into their room. They need to move! He puts fastly everything they have into their car’s trunk then installs his brother sleeping form on the back seat. They need some peace, that’s why he drives without stopping until he found back their old HQ.  
Their Culebras have deserted it, but it’s nice to be back home, as it’s the only home they got in so many years! Something is familiar here, as he carries his brother's sleeping body into his own room. They could be back to be outlaws or could be back to be Lords. It's up to them. The buildings are still here! Kisa had done her group of followers, but they can still be what they used to be, here, as their own bosses. Richie goes to his room, opens his safe, looks at the money here, and wonders what they can do with it. What can they possibly build for their sake, for their El Rey!

“Where… Richie?”

Seth feels numb while he yawns. It seems Richie had stopped the mind-controlling shit, so Seth can focus on his surrounding! He senses soft sheets on his naked skin, but he doesn't remember the motel's bedclothes to be that silky! Anyway, he seems invigorated. Perhaps a good night was all he needed. Seth straightens on the bed as soon as he doesn’t find his brother on the couch next to him, for the good reason, there is no such furniture! He recognizes the room, that’s why he is not panicking, but Richie straddles him anyway when he pops through the door like a devil from a box.

“Why?”  
“Why not?”  
“It’s…”  
“Home.”

He wouldn’t have said so, but that's true. They never got something to call home! They were on the run all their life, and when they had lived with their uncle Eddie, it wasn’t home completely. This is the house they lived in here for almost a year. For bad or worse, it is their home.  
Seth frowns, searching for Kate because he needs to speak with her right now.

“Where is she?”  
“Home, with Scott. I don’t think she’ll come back.”

They should have been good together… Seth smiles, brushing his lips where she kissed him. He loved her too. He even tried to picture what it could have been to share Kate with Richie, to use her as an anchor to pretend nothing happened. He sighs because she is not here anymore, and Richie will soon ask what’s going on. At that question, Seth isn’t sure about how to reply.

“I have ordered some tacos. You need to eat something.”  
“Speaking about that, I’m famished! How long I slept?”  
“Three days?”  
“What?!”  
“You needed it…”  
“Did you…?”

There is some uneasiness for a moment and a long and disturbing silence. Richie sighs, he takes off his glasses, then rubs his nose, annoyed by the inquiry as he already had promised beforehand. Richie can be a monster and a dick, he can lie without remorse, but he never broke a promise he had given to his brother, moreover a promise like that! Seems they do not know each other anymore, but they have time to repair the bond.

“No. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to, because shit, I never saw you cry like that as a grown man! But I promised, and everything I promised to you, I stick to it! I really hope you’ll speak to me because until then, you are going nowhere, dear brother. So, get your ass in my room right now before I haul you in myself.”

He won’t argue to the last sentence because there will be time after the meal to bicker with Richie, even if his tone should advise him otherwise. He walks past his brother, takes place on one of his barstools, and starts to eat without being asked to do it. He eats in silence under the scrutinizing eyes of Richie. He wonders if his brother is trying to read him through his physical gestures or if he tries to unnerve him for him to speak out loud about his problems. Maybe he should. If Richie is going to leave him, it’ll be best if he does it quickly.

“I let her close the gate. I dropped my gun and chose the world ahead of you.”  
“And?” Richie's word straddles him. Seth groans because his brother doesn't get it.  
“You should have been trapped in Xibalba forever!”  
“Am I?” Seth sighs, looking painfully to his brother because feelings weren't his best aptitudes. Anyway, he should understand what he is trying to say.  
“Richie, what I’m trying to say…”  
“I know what you are trying to say, and I would have done the same, even crazy.”  
“But…”  
“Don’t worry about it. I may be your little brother, but we know well I can protect myself all alone, moreover now. I came back. Twice.”  
“I should have come for you.” That's the more important part! Seth didn't come for Richie! He had stayed still, frozen to the sudden realization he got when he understood Richie will be stuck forever...  
“And you would have been stuck there. Come on, everything is good! I made it through hell, and you saved the world before it was too late! We won! Stop punishing yourself because I’m not a little kid anymore as I’m not your burden anymore, to save or protect. I always was the one protecting you, at least physically, and you were the one to patch me daily for me to stay as sane as I can be. We are even, you don’t have to protect me anymore.”  
“It was always my job, Richie.”  
“I let you do it. Face it! I killed the old man to protect you, and I’m a sociopath, Seth. I don’t need anything more than me and myself. But I grew fond of you, of your humanity, about everything I’m not, but could taste from your soul. I let you pamper me, be the big bro you so desired to be, except I never needed you like that. Never.”

Richie is nicely trying to say he never needed him, and thinking about it now, makes Seth realize his brother is right. He never needed to be treated as a child because he wasn’t one. For how long Seth was blinding himself from the truth? Since that night?! He knew it. He had always known because Richie jumped into his bed without fear nor panic, asked him to take his bathrobe, then run to the back door because the flames were devouring their living room. He can recall his father’s voice screaming for help, and his scorched features running for the door while Richie was calm and pondered, hands pulling him to the backdoor. Richie was so serene, so mature, deadly, and unemotional… Seth never had a purpose in his life because he imagined it, himself. He closes his eyes in front of the awful consciousness that Richie doesn’t need him. Richie never needed him…

“Was I so bad?”  
“The worse… but to be frank, sometimes it was nice, you know, feeling normal! Being seen as inferior, as your baby brother was an asset too, no one feared the real threat of our team. Now, it’s time for you to find a true purpose for your life.”  
“What can I do?”  
“I don’t know… Mary, have kids, take a goddam dog, or help me with the bar. You can leave, or you can stay, but I’ll prefer it if you stay. I won’t keep you here if you want to try a normal life. Find, El Rey.”

Seth laughs. " _El Rey is here_ " that’s what Kate had said, but where it is? Where will he find it? El Rey is nowhere to be found because it’s not a beach where you can live happily forever and after.

“El Rey doesn’t exist. They lied. Everyone lied to us. We can only pretend to hell… I can only pretend to hell.” It hurts, everything hurts so much. El Rey will never be his because he failed. Ignorance was better than that hurtful truth.  
“Don’t!”  
“It doesn’t matter, does it? I serve no purpose in your life, why would you care?!”

Richie’s hand closes itself on the bottle of Sangre he was fetching for himself, crushing it soundly. Before he could think against it, he was on Seth, eyes yellow of fury and fangs menacing to bite his brother to put some sense back into his skull. How could he possibly despite himself like that? It wasn’t Seth, or maybe it was. It was him all along, behind his big brother’s hard shell, behind the tattoos and the attitude. He looks in awe and horror, his brother turning his face to the side, baring his neck for him to bite and end his misery. He is not into his head, but he can hear him scream: _kill me, kill me!_  
Richie won’t kill him! He’ll never be able to do it or only if illness would consume his brother painfully. He will but only to protect him, and it’ll be his downfall. So, he punches the man until he cannot harm him anymore because his furry is now cold and empty, as empty as the eyes of Seth. What’s happening?

“Let me in.”  
“For?”  
“I want to know, you owe me that, Seth, I want to know.”  
“You’ll hate me.”  
“No, you’re doing that really fine! You don’t need my help with that. Let me in, Seth, let me in…”

Tears run down his brother’s face. It’s strange to see Seth so vulnerable, like a child. He cannot remember the last time he saw him that hurt, that pained. He had never cried, not once, even when their father took his belt off and whipped him until he felt no more. He saw it! Richie can remember all the violence Seth took with nothing on his face, just a smile when he picked his brother from the floor when their father would leave for his room. He never cried. Never. He was so proud, so strong…

“Let me in… please.”

He can’t stand that, he can’t stand seeing the man he loves so much being nothing more than an empty shell! Seth is the only reason he kept a step into sanity, the only reason he chooses to feel, to understand feelings, to try them himself. He can’t see anymore, fog is crawling on his glasses because… because he cries too.

“Let me in. Fuck you, Seth, let me in!”

A hand takes away his glasses, he looks at his brother with suspicion because he cannot read him. He can usually see so much in his eyes. He can ordinarily recognize the clogs spinning loudly in his head when he thinks of something dumb or brilliantly crazy, but not now. It’s not even his brother right now because he never saw that gaze, so open, so trustful. Then it clicks because Seth is touching him, Seth is caressing his face, and Seth smiles with a sad smile, climbing down a tear on his cheek then jaw. Richie’s heartbeat never was that loud moreover since he is a Culebra. He misses a breath by stupor when Seth’s face rises to his and kisses him next to his lips. It was meant to be a kiss! It was meant to be that fucking crazy, but Seth didn’t have the guts to do it. And before Richie realizes he could stop breathing without it being a problem, his brother recedes and closes his eyes.

“Go…”

What the fuck? It wasn’t meant to be a sort of beg for Richie to drop it, was it? Because there is no fucking way, he could leave without an answer. Cryptic is his brother, so maybe it was meant as an invitation. Richie glances at his hand, then he puts it on Seth's face, but before he can even enter his brother’s mind, the man moves his lips in an almost silent word. And it wasn’t meant to be a brotherly kind of love, that much he knows because Seth didn’t say those words easily. He knows only one person who was worthy of it, Seth’s girlfriend back when they were in high school.

“Dickhead…”

He doesn't have to slide into Seth’s head because it’ll be pointless. Richie knows now what’s going on. Seth is not blaming himself for almost having left his brother to his fate. He blames himself because Richie isn’t just a brother anymore. Since when? And how? Seth's psyche is as sick as his own because Richie isn’t lovable. He is a sociopath! He never loved, only desired. He wants to fuck, to possess, and to own. He got obsessed once, and it was almost terrifying because his mind is sick, and he wanted to play with the girl to harm her as much as she had hurt him with feelings he couldn’t bear.

“Is it only… physical? I bet it isn’t, but I need to know the extent of that feeling because I’m not sure what to do with it.”  
“You don’t have to do anything with it, Richie… I’m a monster.”  
“ _I am_ the snake-monster here.”  
“You know what I mean.”  
“Since when?”  
“Since that night. Deep down, I always knew, but you couldn’t be a killer! You were so young, so… perfect! Dad had always said you were a monster, but the real one was me. Fighting against it, against the desire to touch and kiss you. I chained you because I couldn’t let you leave. Being your brother was the best I could allow myself to be. I took you with me, I wanted El Rey for us both, and it killed you. _I_ killed you! Only because I though El Rey will be our paradise, girls to fuck, beers to drink, and American dollars to live a long life with you until we grow old and die. It could have been great! _It should have been great!_ But you died, and you left. It hits me back so strongly, the need, the desire to touch, to feel you! Fuck, I wanted to _die_ , but I had Kate, and part of me wanted to put a stake into Satanico’s heart. You were mine, Richie! And it was hell to know you loved her more than me because I never loved someone more than you, and I won’t be able to do it. So, you see, I am meant to go in hell! I am fucking sick…”  
“It’s a tie. Ball in the center, Seth.”  
“Do you want me to leave?”  
“No. I don’t know my answer yet, but if you leave that fucking house before I find it, I’m going to chase you and bite you to death, are we clear?”  
“We are.”

Richie can accept it, sure! However, he won’t do it only for the sake of his brother. Feelings are much more tricky to handle than a safe with maximum security! He sighs and smiles, wondering when his brother started to be dysfunctional. He always thought Seth was sane, but maybe he never was. He helps the man to stand, and for once, once in his lifetime, he looks at Seth as a man, not as his brother. He likes his one-nightstand easy to the eyes, bland, nameless, and forgettable. He likes them slutty and bitchy because he likes raw and fast sex with some violence, and sometimes a little blood to the edge. He likes them thighs open, begging for his cock. He likes them degraded and enjoying it. His fucks never got a real type because he fucked blond, brunette, redhead, White, Latinos, and Back without a difference. He got only one type in girls, well-behaved girls to break into pieces, to toy with… Richie wonders if his brother had slept with a man, he never through Seth would ever think about fucking with a male because he always had girls with him…  
One thing he knows… he likes Seth best with longer hair and without a bear, or just a little! Just enough to give him a manly feature, but still sexy as fuck. He smiles, putting his glasses on.

“Two rules from now on, don’t fucking cut your hair, and stop looking like an old biker bastard! But don’t go babyface either.”  
“What?”  
“If you want me to look at you that way, at least please my eyes.”

That’s the only thing he has to say. Right now, he needs to feed, he needs to take time to think all alone, so he takes the key of their car and goes for the exit.

“If you need anything, call me. And I wasn’t kidding about chasing you if you try to flee. I can smell you on miles around. You wouldn't stand a chance.”  
“Aren’t you…”

Seth can’t find his words because Richie is eying him like a predator, then he smiles that old and earnest smile he forgot somewhere into their childhood. God, he loves the man, and Richie isn’t going to leave. He doesn’t want him to leave either… Was she right? Is El Rey here, and always, was? When the door closes behind Richie, Seth laughs, but soon it breaks into tears. He’s not sure what to feel, what to drown into because he shouldn’t be pleased. Even as a Culebra, Richie is still his brother. His baby brother! Even if only of a year, eight months, one week, and six days…

When he cannot cry anymore, he walks to his room and goes straight for a long and hot shower. Maybe it’ll help Seth to feel a little much more like himself. He tries not to think about his problems nor Richie. He needs a break with his mind, so when he feels refreshed, he looks at his reflection in the mirror. " _Don’t fucking cut your hair"_ … His hands grab the long curls on the top of his head with deep concern. Seth got them longer when he was adolescent, but since he began his crime-life, he had cut them regularly. They started to grow longer, only when Richie left. So, does it mean it is the end of the Gecko brothers? It should be!  
He takes his trimmer and starts to shave. The last month was hard enough for him to go lazy on his bear. When he can see his skin again, he tries a smile, but it fades away as soon as he saw it on his reflection. He killed Richie because of his feelings! He killed the man he loved the most because he was the more sinful of the two! He loves his brother!

The trimmer hits the glass, cutting his reflection into hundreds of pieces, each one as guilty as him. He never touched Richie. He wasn’t a bastard! He never raped him nor tried to have what he wanted when Richie climbed into his bed during the stormy nights. Sometimes, yes, he had put his fingers into his hair. Sometimes he had kissed him on the forehead when he was sound asleep, but he had never done anything more. The guilt still runs within his blood because he had jerked off, thinking about his brother’s lips, about his brother’s long fingers. He had imagined fucking him, making love to him because Seth felt alone, so fucking alone once his mother had left. And he sent all his desperation to the only person he had left. Richard.  
He had isolated himself with Richie because he couldn’t live without him, couldn’t bear distance and separation! He even repeated a class to be sure they’ll enter in high school together. And part of him was ashamed about it, about the exclusivity he placed upon Richie, about how he pushed Richie far away from his studies to bring him along into his delinquency. He shaped Richie! Maybe his brother could have been someone else, someone better. And Kate is forgiving him, but why?

He takes his phone and starts writing. It’s the first time he can send everything he has on his heart, how he was a bad man all along. What if Richie was a sociopath because of him? Because he had made a little boy of seven the center of his universe, of his desires, of his affection? What if Richie was a sociopath because he knew? Because Seth’s attention was sufficient to be considered abuse? What if it was covert incest all along? When he had explained everything he needed, he quits replying to Kate because he doesn’t want to read her kind lines and comforting words. They got a dysfunctional family, but he had done the same. He had cut all ties around them, and even when he got married, it was only with Richie at his side.  
He smiles, wondering if he would have been able to share his wife as he was imagining sharing Kate with Richie to get him close, even in the same bed as him. Close enough to touch, to feel but legitimate by the girl’s presence in the middle of their two bodies. He is sick! He screams like a mad man, like a wounded beast, as he is breaking everything he can.

“Kate?!”  
“Go find him now, whatever you are doing, stop, and find Seth!”

Richie wipes his lips, looking distractedly to the corps near his boots. He frowns nonetheless when he hears the fear in Kate’s voice and the roaring motor of Scott, as she screams to him to go faster. Something starts to frighten him, so he runs out to the car and rides hastily to their nest. He ordered Seth to stay home, and his brother accepted it. However, a bad feeling is cooling the blood he just fed upon. He screams Seth's name as soon as he jumped out of the car, but his brother doesn't answer. His heartbeat seems to be a crazy brass band, which is chattering into pieces as soon as he sees the puddle of blood on the floor.

“God, Seth!”

Seth is still breathing, his heart still beats, but so slowly. He picks the opened wrist and takes off his tie to do a garrote. Then Richie presses hard on the wound, stirring his brother from the sleepiness he was drowning into.

“Seth? The fuck! What have you done?” Richie doesn't recognize his own voice because fear is tightening his vocal cords.  
“I free you.”  
“It’s no freedom if I need to see you die like this!” No, it's no freedom! Seth is too preoccupied with his own troubles to understand this is no freedom for Richie. It's even worse than hell itself!  
“I found my El Rey, Richie, she was right... But I can pretend to it because I break everything I touch.”  
“You didn’t break me!”  
“Yes, I did. You… it’s my fault you are a sociopath, it must be…” Seth manages a smile. He seems so sure about himself, about his own decisions, but Richie can't help to fight against Seth's resolve because it's not fair! Seth shouldn't blame himself for things he wasn't the cause of.  
“Don’t fuck with me, Seth! I’m a sociopath because I was born like this! Because I saw my mother leaving as I was a child, and I still needed her. Because I saw my father beating my brother to blood so many fucking times! Because the-said-father abused me as much as he abused you but with words more than with his belt or fists! Because I choose not to feel anymore... Because it was hell, and I couldn’t bear it. I lost myself in it!”

Richie doesn't like to speak about his youth. He had suffered too much for his own sake. As a result, some pieces of his childhood are misremembered. His father had said he was a monster so many times, that Richie was the only reason his mother had abandoned them... He had believed that lie for a long time, that he was the cause of each of Seth's torments until he realized it was only their father's fault! Anyway, he cannot forget the image of a woman, taking a big case, and leaving her children behind as if they were nothing! Hate was the only emotion he knew for a very long period of his youth. If Seth had never been here to teach him anything but resentment, Richie would have turned more dangerous...

“I kept you…”  
“And you have done it right. Do you actually think about the sort of man I would be if you weren’t here in the first place? How many people could have died? How many crimes would I have done without you?”  
“You could have been better…”  
“Don’t say that… don’t dare to die on me, Seth!”  
“It’s ok. Let it go. Let it go, Richie. I can stand Xibalba if I can see your face one last time.”  
“No… don’t…”  
“God, I love you so much, Richie…”  
“Let me do it. Let me do it!”

Richie couldn't live alone. I must never be left alone, or the world could be doomed without someone to take care of his soul. Who will help him to focus on a task and only one at the time? Who will remind him he is no monster? Who will accept his darkest parts without using them nor being frightened by them? Who will teach him how to keep feeling?

“No, Richie. I deserve to die. Please, let my wrist go.”

Richie closes his eyes, letting the hand fall back on the floor. He cannot go past Seth’s wishes. His brother knows it, and Richie knows it too. And those eyes... Those eyes are the eyes of a decided man, those of a man who took his decision and will live by it, or in this context, die by it. He opens them as soon as the roaring motor of Scott’s bike can be heard. Richie leaves his dying brother’s side to rush for the door.

“Where is he?” Kate understands what Seth had done once she had seen Richie's bloodied hands.  
“He doesn’t want to…”  
“The fuck he doesn’t want! Back then, _I didn’t want him to save me_! He must live with it! I’m going to save his ass against his will because he saved mine!”

Kate rushes into their house without looking back. She lets her bag fall on the ground next to Seth, then she sighs because he had already bled a lot. Anyway, that’s not too late as he can open his eyes and look at her face while she is preparing the blood perfusion.

“The fuck… Kate.”  
“El Rey is not there, Seth!”  
“I know… Promise you’ll keep an eye on him.”  
“That’s your fucking responsibility, not mine! If you die, and Richie goes berserk, _YOU_ will be to blame, not me! I already have a Culebra to care about, and Scott is not the easy one to deal with!”  
“He’s sweet…”  
“Sweet? Are you calling _MY_ brother, _sweet_? Oh my god! Stop speaking, or I gag you!”  
“He is cute, indeed… I wish Richie could smile like that more often. You were good to Scott…”  
“As far as I know, you were good to Richie too. You never touched him! Ok?! You never lay a hand on him! You didn’t rape him nor didn’t abuse him! If so, he wouldn’t be here in the first place.”

She found a vein, and she is looking at the blood, which is falling into Seth’s arms with hope. She keeps the bleeding wrist into her hands, rising it to lessen the bleeding. And with a sharp movement, she tightens Richard’s tie knot against Seth's biceps, making him groan.

“You’re not gonna die!”  
“I’m toxic.”  
“Yes, you are. You’re even an asshole right now! Do you know what you’re _actually_ doing? Dying in front of him?! How would you react if it was him, bleeding to death on the cold ground you called home for the first time in years! Is that _home_ for you? Dying in front of your brother!”

Seth looks at the puddle of blood next to him with a pained and tired smile. He’s not a good man, he never was, even if he so wanted to be one. He tried to hide the terrible truth for so many years, but he is an awful man all the same. Kate is slapping his head as she yells to him, but he doesn’t want to stare at her.

“Will he make it?”  
“I don’t know. Scott, prepare yourself.”  
“Are you sure?”  
“I am! He will live! You understand me, Seth?! I’m going to save your sorry ass, or Scott will do it! You understand, Seth?! It’s the hard way, with me and all the pain included, or it’ll be the easy way, and you can say adios to the sun forever!”

He cannot even say no, cannot even say he doesn’t want to be a Culebra. He is so far and so near, so here and so there… Between Scott and Kate, he can see Richie and his tears filled eyes. He tries so hard to speak to say one last word to Richie: _don’t cry, don’t be sad, it’s ok_ … even if it’s not ok, even if he understands what Kate is screaming to his dying soul. But it’s the best he can give to Richie.

“Don’t… cry… love… you.”


	2. Chapter 2

Richie opens his eyes on a white ceiling. He can’t remember anything after the last words of his brother. Something blew up in his mind, and he lost consciousness after that. Seems Culebra cannot die of grief, nor cannot die about heart failure or whatever it was. He has some problems moving, and when he sees half his body is numb, he starts to laugh. Being a Culebra didn’t stop his brain to work like a human's one. It should have been a cerebral attack, but soon enough, he mastered his left side then sits on his bed. Scott’s figure straightens on one of his stools, and he whistles, certainly to call his sister.  
  
“Take this! Not really warm, but it’ll help. I was worried you died.”  
“I’m pretty sure _I died_ … thank you!”

Sure, blood transfusion isn’t his favorite, but he needs some! Blood is better warm, under a beautiful and alive skin. He opens the blood bag with his teeth and drinks directly from it, sending the approaching Kate a dark glance. When the bag is empty, he throws it away into the bin and sighs.

“Did you do it?”  
“I did.”  
“He wanted to die! We cannot keep him bound here forever. He will go out into the sun to kill himself.”  
“He won’t.”  
“You don’t know him…”  
“Sure, but he won’t do it. Come here! Right now, fucking _sorry ass_! Or I haul you in there myself!”

Richie keeps his breath when his brother's figure walks next to Kate. He looks like trash, but he looks like alive. When he breathes in, he can smell Seth’s scent and human blood. Indeed, Kate had done it. If he was totally ok he would be into his brother’s arms, but his left leg was still recovering, and he crushes hard on the cold floor. He hears Kate slapping Seth before the man is near him and helps him to sit on his ass.

“I’m sorry…”  
“Don’t dare to do that to me again.”  
"I won’t.”  
“Good… you owe me an excellent dinner with warm blood and pristine skin!”  
“You’re asking too much!”  
“I’m asking what I want! _I am_ the little brother here! So, heal fast, and I’ll heal faster.”

There is something in Seth’s eyes. Something more broken than it was, but something more alive too. He caresses his brother’s jaw, smiling widely to see his trimmed bear. He goes down to the tattoo and the two holes he left here long ago. So long ago, it seemed to be another life, an old nightmare.  
He kisses Seth here, his hands going down the naked arm to the bandage of his wrist. Another scar, another pain to heal, but this one is special, this one is worse than all the others. It wasn’t a wound, someone they can kill with a bullet in the head had put on his brother’s skin. It was a wound, a deadly wound, his brother had done to himself, to free him and Richie from his weird feelings toward him. He cannot really understand why Seth thinks he is the only fault to his mental issues, how he can be so sure his feelings were the doom of their sane life because they never got one in the first place.

They are damaged, but it could be worse. As Kate had said it, Seth could have raped him. Richie is not able to imagine what he would have done if Seth had tried to do it.  
He couldn’t hurt Seth because Seth is his everything. He may have let him do it, he may have closed his eyes and wait for it to be finished, but would their brotherly relationship would have been able to survive that? He doesn’t think so.

Seth loves him? He doesn’t care! Right now, he is an adult, and he can face it because Seth made him realize he can feel too! He can love. He can desire. He can be normal to some extent!  
  
“You died for me, now live for me! Live until you can no more.”  
“I promise.”  
“Good… and please, speak to me. You’ll see your brain is full of shit, but not the one you think you have…”

He kisses his marks a second time, just to prove a point because if Seth thinks he hurts him in any manner, he had hurt Seth way more. He didn’t know. He never knew Seth’s feelings because if he had, he would have played differently. He may even have left without Satanico, or take Seth with him to prove he was still himself.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to harm you, I never wanted it, Richie.”  
“It’s ok, you’re not perfect, no one is! But I’ll forgive you only once.”

It's already quite disturbing to know he’ll live through his brother’s death. Richie will see Seth age and get old, will see him die… Thinking about it is painful. If only Seth would accept to be turned… Alas, he knows Seth, or he thought he knew him because Seth never was that strong man in the first place.

“Will you help? I’ll stay in bed until I’m fully healed.”  
“Ok.”  
“Well, before it becomes a soap, let’s go, Scott! No more SMS like that, are we clear? Next time you text me, be it a nice message of how cool I am, or your first sex tape!”

Scott laughs, he looks at the brothers with an amused smile, then he sends them a nod before following his sister.  
  
“And no, you can’t ask Scott to join you! Or I’ll kill you both…”  
“Damn, Kate! I’m not a kid anymore! I can do what I want…”  
“Sure, speak to my cunt, Scott, and ride that bike home! If you play with them, I’ll cut your balls…”  
“Says, who? Oh yeah, the girl who fucked with them!”  
“What?! I didn’t!”  
“Really? I though… Just a minute.”  
“Scott!”

Richie is back on his bed, thanks to his brother’s help when the Asian man pops his head into his room and looks at them with a flirty smile.

“Don’t mind her… You know my phone, guys!”  
“Scott, I heard you!”  
“I thought you were Christian?!” asks Seth with a frown on his face.  
“I am. What’s the problem?”  
“We are brothers…”  
“And Eve was Adam’s rib, and their children had long and fertile incestuous relationships, and thanks to them, here we are! Adults can do whatever they want, as long as it’s consensual. So, don’t forget if you want to try some Asian delicacies, brothers are totally my kink! That being said, I’m off!”

Richie can’t stop a little laugh because he doesn’t care either. How long has his brother tortured himself with that? He should have said it! Richie is no saint and utterly insane. He wouldn’t be the one to judge something so trivial. Plus, Seth must know since the time, he swings both ways. Richie doesn’t care about sex identities! When it comes to sex, Richie has no taboo. He even tried a trans guy or girl... He doesn’t know how to refer to them because, in his world, everything is trivial! People are people! Personalities are interesting or not, bodies are fuckable or not. That’s all that mattered!

“Do you want to speak about it?”

He listens to Seth with a lot of deference. In the family, it was common to think Richie was the genius, and Seth was only the problematic one. Yet, through the years of his fantasies, Seth had done researches. He tried to understand where he had gone through, and his interpretations are almost logical. Richie was too young to really remember what it was to have a mother. You cannot miss something you barely had the time to know. Seth had it. He had a mother who loved him and took care of him. He had a mother to soothe his nightmares or lessen his little sores. He had someone to turn to whenever he was worried or distressed. When he was proud or ashamed. And this person took her belongings then left him without a goodbye kiss. Then they were left only with their drunken father, his beatings, and dreadful words.  
Moreover, Richie realized he somehow took their mother’s role without noticing. He always came easing his brother’s pains after a rough beating. He often slept with him after a hard day, giving as excuses a storm or a nightmare. And Seth started to want more, to fill the gap of his loneliness with his brother’s body. Things should have ordinarily passed, but they never broke the bond, and Richie never saw under the hard shell of his brother. Seth's jealousy about his first girlfriend and his excessive protectiveness… Richie got them all wrong! His brother wasn’t trying to prove he was unable to live by himself. Seth just wanted him for himself! He wanted Richie, wanted his body and soul! And when Richie left, it was as if Seth had lived their mother's departure another time.

If he had read upon his troubles, Seth had taken the time to know about consequences upon Richie.  
  
Richie isn’t sure Seth is right about covert incest. But even if it was true, the strange relationship they started after high school wasn’t the reason he is a sociopath. He was diagnosed when he was sixteen, but Richie had always felt different. The psychologist could have been wrong, and Seth isn’t a sociopath at all. He can only be a genius with no concern about whatever the society wanted his interests in. Maybe it's Asperger all along, but it doesn't change anything. Seth wasn't responsible for Richie's mental problems! Anyway, the past is behind them, and he'll never blame Seth for his sick overprotection.

“Ok… stop! Yeah, our family was dysfunctional, to say the least. The old man was an alcoholic, he abused us until I killed him, and he would have cared less than his fucking football game if you had raped me back then. Of course, you have some problems with your feelings! She left us with a mad man! And only because I’m a sociopath, I don’t understand all the extent of your dilemmas. But if you think you needed to fill the hole she left you with, I believe you. You wanted my attention, and I give it all to you! You wanted my love, I give it to you because I wanted to. And Seth, you give them to me because the only mother I had, was you! It was us against the world, Seth! Against the monster smelling alcohol and beating us daily. But you know, if it was abuse all along if it was covert incest, you should know I’m fine! As fine as a sociopath can be. Contrary to you, I don’t actually try to harm myself. I never was into self-depreciation nor scarification. I’m not suicidal, and my sex-life is as sane as it can be. So, brother, if you were that bad, do you think I’ll be that normal considering I was born a sociopath?”  
“I… It’s not normal.”  
“It’s not, and I don’t care! It’s not normal to have an eye in the fucking hand, and I don’t care either! Do _you_ care?”  
“No…”

Seth smiles a little. Richie takes Seth's hands into his, feeling relieved his brother had spoken his mind and shared his fears. For Richie, Seth's quandaries were shit all along. Seth shouldn't be afraid of his darkest thoughts because they are nothing compared to Richie's. Did Seth ever try to picture Richie’s darkest insights? Richie hopes he never tried because he’d die of agony if he could know all his perversions. Maybe it wasn’t the sanest way to live. Maybe Seth had hurt him more than one with his jealousy, hidden behind a self-sufficient overprotector brother. But Richie could have had worse, and honestly, he already has forgiven Seth! Because Seth gives him normalcy even if this normality was abnormal for everyone else! His brother gives him so much... Seth cannot even imagine.

“Please, Seth, forgive yourself. I’m fine, but you aren’t. You should go see a psychiatrist. You tried to kill yourself, goddammit! You took risks for nothing. Moreover, you used drugs and alcohol to hide all your problems. For now on, we’ll stop to hide back into our old life. I think about doing something here, for the Culebras and the humans. Help me.”  
“I will.”  
“And once you’ll get better, we’ll see what to do with these feelings of yours. But Seth… if you want to pursue something with me, try to understand one thing: I may understand feelings through you, but I’m not sure I can actually love. However, if I can, then... there is no possible way I’ll let you die. Do you understand what it means?”

The hands in his are trembling slightly. Seth should know he can face his brother's death. Richie may be able to accept it, including the newfound loneliness with the passing decades' help. But if Seth seeks his love, there is no way he’ll be able to bear the loneliness after that. Like he wasn’t able to support his desires when he first wanted a girl.

“Give me a bottle of Sangre, I’m starving!”  
“You passed out for three days. I really thought you were dead.”  
“Three days?”  
“Yeah…”

Ok, he better understands the sudden change of behavior of his brother. Three days was a lot! Sure, Culebras can stay dead for a prolonged period until blood puts them back together. He had read about death sentences by exsanguination, then burring a Culebra still alive for ages. So, he should be glad he hadn’t opened his eyes under a tombstone! He may thank Scott later for that.

Richard scrutinizes his brother rummaging through his bottles of alcohol with an obvious smile because he enjoys Seth's concern. He lets the man being a big brother even if he can sit without help. Richie even chuckles when Seth pats the pillow behind him. Then he sips his blood like it was alcohol, well _it is_ like a beer! They look at each other for a quiet and comfortable time.

“Speak.”  
“Are you sure you’re not able to read minds anymore?”  
“Only yours.”  
“How is it to be… you know? Can you still taste food, alcohol? Sex?”

Ha! He is half-snake for god's sake! He’s pretty sure his brother is mixing what he is now with whatever Hollywood had done with the European vampires. By the way, are they real too? He should investigate that. It could be interesting to do a united nation of blood drinkers, as long as they all stick to their rules: no innocent people.

“I can but doesn’t feed me anymore. I can still enjoy the taste, though. For the sex… well, I hadn't had actual sex with someone, since that... Anyway, things with my hand didn’t change between the before and the after, so this should answer your question. And no, I’m not cold to the touch. I may be more… how to say it... sensible to the cold, though. I actually hate it now. It feels draining.”  
“How about your other form, about your other skin?”

Richie is astonished regarding the question because he didn’t see it coming. So his eyebrows are doing a funny line while he peers at his brother over the lenses of his glasses. The last and only one time he had let the real beast goes out, his brother was afraid of him for weeks, even months. Richard’s not feeling at ease with this form since he got back into Seth’s life because he knows this is the limit his brother can witness.

“Do you want to see it?”

Actually, it could help his body to heal faster. So Richie sees no objection against it, apart from the uneasiness of his brother. Seth seems conflicted about it and his answer to the question. For a long moment, the two brothers just stare at each other with curiosity because they are almost strangers to each other. Maybe Seth thinks about the fear he had felt that time when Richie killed someone with pure fury. His brother nods silently, and he didn’t revert his gaze nor flinch when Richie disappears under the Culebra. Actually, it still is Richie, even in this form. He may be a little angrier in this form. It is more complicated for him to understand and use his feelings, but it’s him. Moreover since when he started to be saner.

“It’s still me, you know?”  
“Yeah, I know.”

He didn’t presume his brother would like to touch him, that’s why he nervously steps back a little. The past revulsion in Seth's eyes is still fresh in his mind, and unfortunately, Richie cannot forget it. But when the hand reaches his skin in a second tentative try, Richie lets it happen. Because Richard wants to know what his brother is thinking now, about him being a Culebra. Richie doesn't want to hide anymore. He is what he is, and now, he feels at peace with it. He wishes his brother to accept it too. He doesn't leave Seth’s eyes during the physical contact, even if his brother isn’t staring back at him because his eyes were fixed to his scaly skin. Suddenly, Seth looks back, he studies his face with concerned care. He may try to see him under the Culebra form.  
It's strange to be touched like that. The feelings are different along his scaly skin, almost numb but strangely warmer. It feels nice too, even safe to be seen like that by Seth, and Seth accepting it.

He smiles at his brother, and Seth takes advantage of it to touch his fangs.

“What are you doing?”  
“How is it? The blood…”  
“Better than sex.”

Well, it is the first thing he could think about without sounding weird. It mostly is better than sex... Scratch that, it is better! It’s fucking perfect! A pure moment of perfection.... but his brother’s face says otherwise.

“What?”  
“Better than sex? Do you actually get off when you kill someone?”

Ouch, that wasn’t it at all! It may be better than sex to his taste, but there's nothing sexual while he kills someone. Blood can be sexual, but only if you wanted it to be, like when Satanico used her girlfriend to feed onto. But it's different, it's not meant to kill!

“No. Don’t get me wrong! Killing is the same when I do it as a human or in my Culebra’s form. However, blood can be a bond to things you cannot even imagine. I can see people’s lives, learn people’s talent... I can share their feelings… Feeding on someone you know, someone you already share a bond with is surely better than all the sex of the fucking world.”  
“So, you see through me?”  
“No, I didn’t want the bond that day. I didn’t even taste you, to be true. Though I saw your fear, I could smell it. I never felt better in my life after I turned. That's why I couldn’t bear your fear, couldn’t bear your distrust nor your disgust. It was for the best that time, but I can assure you I didn’t know you had feelings like that for me. It wasn’t my intention to harm you.” Seth's digits grip on his scaly skin with nervousness because of his words. If Richie had known, a lot of things would have happened differently, but the past is now behind them. They can only forge ahead.  
“Feed on me.”  
“I don’t think…”  
“I don’t ask you to drain me, just... feed on me.”

Seth is still weak, but if he really wants him to do it, Richie won’t deny such a delightful invitation. He takes Seth’s arm, intending to cover Satanico’s marks with his, but his brother is pulling back his arm to himself. He then sits next to Richie, baring his neck where everything started to turn sour. Richie closes his eyes, focusing on putting back the Culebra to sleep, except Seth prevents him to do so. He lets his brother pulling his lizard face against his neck toward his pulse, but Richie escapes the mesmerizing sound. He goes a little south because he’ll taste Seth, he doesn’t want to kill him.

He can’t help but sniff the skin, registering the scent tasting home and something that is Seth Gecko before he bites his brother’s neck. Blood suddenly flows into his mouth. It tastes… guilt. It tastes pain and suffering, but it tastes hope too. A slight tinge of fear remains, but it suddenly engulfed in a love so strong, Richie almost breaks the contact.  
And with the taste of that powerful love, the connection is insane because he can see everything. He can examine himself through Seth’s eyes, dear and precious, beautiful and perfect… Seth has a serious problem with reality because that’s not how he is! Richie isn’t the sweet little brother Seth can see.  
Richie retracts his teethes but didn’t draw back because the bond is enticing. He laps at Seth’s blood, pursuing the link to some hidden place far into Seth’s mind, and what he can witness here is almost disturbing.  
He discovers how Seth wants to make love to him, how he imagines whispering his love to him, caressing his skin, and kissing him. How he imagines giving him pleasure, and fuck… that’s hot! With the connection, he’s on the verge to cross the path he shouldn’t cross in the first place, so he steps back and opens his eyes to look at his brother.

Richie’s hard in his slacks, and Seth breathes too heavily for it to be only about pain.

The silence is now too long and almost unbearable. Seth is the first to do something, and he stands up suddenly then flees out of Richard’s room. Richard falls on the mattress, looking at the ceiling with a mixture of worry and content. This was better than sex, and maybe, doing the real thing with Seth would be even more pleasurable… Anyway, he needs to be sure, beforehand, it’ll be helpful for his brother! When he had calmed himself, Richie decides to go check on his brother. Because of the warm blood and his Culebra's form, his body is now completely healed. He walks to the room in front of his, reassured to see his brother only sitting on his bed. Seth seems to look at his hands with a puzzled expression.  
  
“You're ok?”  
“Yeah, sorry, I needed to move before…”  
“I understand.”  
“Thank you.”  
“No, thank _you_! Seeing myself through your eyes was… something new! Something strange but enjoyable. Anyhow, I’m sorry to say I’m not that perfect.”  
“You are.”  
“Then, I’m only perfect through your eyes. I mean it. Go see someone to talk about it. I have done enough damages, so I won’t do anything more that could possibly hurt you.”  
“I’m sorry too, I couldn’t stop myself and my… mind. I hadn’t wanted to be that graphic.”

Society and morals have some codes and values, Richard cannot really understand. What is ok or not ok to do, is abstract for him, and he thinks about repercussions only when he talks to his brother and _only_ when he’s calm enough to do so! Richie has no taboo, and no social convention, so he doesn’t care his brother is thinking about fucking him. Honestly, he’s not sure he can be submissive through sexual intercourse with another man, but it doesn't matter right now.

Seth wants to look at him as a healthy person, but he isn’t. Moreover, now that he’s not human anymore. He feels relieved and freed. Free to be what he wants, says, and thinks since he takes no part anymore on these human shitty social conventions and virtues. He is a predator, and now he feeds on humans. But thanks to his brother, he understands what humanity is: a dark stormy hurricane with some moment of pure divine light. A precious light! Even if his brother becomes a Culebra one day, he’ll never forget that powerful glow.

"You know, I already fuck guys. I’m not the virgin you think I am. I don’t care about love or sex the way you do, but sometimes it helps to bring down some… tensions.”  
“I didn’t know.”  
“I never try to hide it. Did you get a guy?”  
“No. I’m not into guys at all. You’re my exception.”

It’s no wonder his brother’s thoughts are so romantic and sensual. And why he thinks about fucking a guy like he’s a woman! Richie has some difficulties to conceive himself in that sort of intercourse.

“So, you want to go back to being Lord?”  
"Yes.”  
“Can I really be Lord if I'm only meat for you?”  
“You'll be my human ambassador.”  
“No shit?!”  
“Not all Culebra are religious. Those who aren’t with Satanico will be rogues and lawless. They’ll attack people and kill everyone to survive. We can show them how to be good outlaws.”  
“Ha! The Gecko’s brother’s school of _how to become a rightful outlaw_? You are crazy, Richie.”  
“But you love me like that, don’t you?”  
“Yeah… I love you, Rich’…”  
“Then, let’s go spreading the news! There are still two Lords for lost Culebras if they wish to live peacefully with humans.”  
“And how about the bar you speak of?”  
“That’s where I feed, you already know that. I had a barmaid, but I bet she left without being paid. You could work there if you wish a more conventional life.”  
“Let me think about it.”  
“No rush, it won’t be easy to change our lives.”


	3. Chapter 3

Seth sighs, he looks at the woman in front of him, doubting her words. Sure, she helped him a lot! Those last months were somewhat helpful. Nightmares are indeed lesser, even if obviously, he had to use metaphors to explain his guilt about almost leaving his baby brother in hell! Step by step, he tries his best to recover from most of the hard blows the life had sent him, from his abusive father to his failure as a big brother. The doctor knows who he is, but she keeps helping him to find a way in his life, small steps toward a healthier life. He looks through the windows because he tries hard not to cry. Sometimes it’s easier than other days, today is pretty challenging because he doesn’t want to disappoint the doctor. He may advance in his life. He may accept he was just an abused boy who tried his best to stay alive, and his feelings for Richie were merely one of his defense reactions. He comes to believe, he never abused Richie. His brother's mental issues are probably due to their mother's departure when he was still a baby. And the fact he witnessed his big brother being beaten and broken from the inside by their father.

He may accept step by step, their outlaw life was just an escape and a way to punish himself too. Ok. He gets it all! Life was a bitch, and he needs to face it! He’s a casualty like Richard. It wasn't an intelligent move to hide in crimes, easy cash, and addictions. It wasn't being powerful to hurt because you got hurt... Now he understands because Seth never felt that powerless throughout his life. Or maybe he always was, but chose to disregard it! Still, he can’t find a reason to begin a life for himself far away from Richie because he’ll kill himself without him. Seth starts to ponder about his future and immortality more and more. Maybe life would be more manageable as a Culebra. This choice is difficult because he likes the fact life is short and fleeting. He likes it like that, but how nice could it be to live forever with his brother? How sweet it’ll be to stay with him and support him whatever Richie may want to do? What does he want to do for himself? Being here for Richie!

He may too accept, he’ll never erase that feeling because suppressing it seems impossible. Even if he had tried hard and found a girl he loved, then started something with her! His mind and lips call the same name nights after nights. He can’t stop loving Richie! He’ll never be able to do it! He closes his attention because what she is saying is impossible, and before the end of the session, he flees out of the room. To stop loving Richie will be his death!

“Where is Anna?” Richie is glaring him with suspicious eyes as soon as he enters their house.  
“Gone.”  
“Why?” Seth frowns. He doesn't want to speak about his failed efforts at some healthiness.  
“Said your name in bed. Now, if you _excuse me_ , I have things to do!”

Richie grimaces. Seth was doing almost fine until now. Yet, today he comes home earlier, slams his door shut the same as when he was a teenager! He even broods like a child in his room for hours!  
Richie never asked about the therapy. He never pried into Seth's love-life even when his brother introduced him to an unexpected girlfriend. He never questioned himself if Seth was delusional or utterly happy. It seems his brother still isn’t, so Richie enters the room and sits on Seth’s bed.

“Want to talk?”  
“I’m not doing what she’s asking of me.”  
“What does she ask?”

Seth seems frantic. He sighs twice before directing his fury to some unfortunate beer can he just finished.

“Leaving you behind for good. Living for myself until I’m able to look at you only as a brother. Funny, I never look at you other than as a brother, never look at you as a man. If I had, I think I wouldn’t be in that shit.”  
“Why _me_? If you’re not into men, why do you want _me_?”

The question seems silly into Seth's eyes. They may have shared a bond through blood, but it's not as if Richie can read each of his thoughts. And even if he could, he wouldn't pry without Seth's consent!

“Because you’re as mad as sexy. Because I trust you with my life, my death, and even my afterlife if I let you do it… I love your fucking eyes and the way you look at me even when you are mad, and only wish to shut my mouth up. I love your coldness because I know more than anyone that deep inside, you’re no cold at all, and that’s only years of restraining you show us. I love your smile, your honest smiles! Because they only are for me to see. I love your big brain and your sharp tongue, Richie. I love your perfect look, but I prefer it sloppy and messy. I always want to mess up with your hair. And I’m fucking in love with your bottom lip! I’m not even sure you realize how much you are hot, and that’s a goddam hetero saying that to your face.”

Here it is. Richie can see sparks of joy here and there into Seth's deep brown eyes. He smiles, and it's genuine. Anyway, Richie cannot stop a chuckle because no one had the guts to say those words to him. Richie is not sure if he finds them pleasant or disturbing, but he bathes in Seth's joy and discovers no reason to be upset by them.  
Seth sends a glare to the man taking off his glasses and putting them on his bedside table without a word. Suddenly Richie lays down next to Seth, who rolls on his side to look at the man next to him. It’s been a long time since they took some alone time.

The sun is still high in the sky. Richie has some more time before going through his duties as the new Lord. In the end, Seth didn’t take the job, of course, he’s here whenever Richie needs him or a human for whatever deal he is doing with the Culebra’s mafia. That’s Richie’s business! Maybe he’d be more interested in it when he’d be a Culebra, but right now, his life needs some more peace. He’s doing good with the bar. He loves to chat with the customers, and for once, his charm is a real asset. Plus, Richie joins him before sunrise, and Seth brings him some food because, on the border, a lot of bad guys try to find a cheap bar with a lot of girls! He loves his life as it is now.  
Yet, Anna was definitely a mistake. He meets her in the bar, finds her attractive, and falls in love with her and her commonness. It was nice for some months to live with a teacher and to take care of her two kids. Seth had stayed more for the family experience than for his feelings for the girl because, in the end, Richie will always be first.

Seth is suddenly shocked. Lost in his thoughts, he hadn’t seen his brother moving. He was abruptly sent to his back with a playful Culebra happily using his inhuman strength to imprisoned him. Seth groans because it’s almost painful, but Richie doesn’t loosen his grip. He only smiles deviously. This sort of smile is never a good sign, Seth knows it, and he understands Richie is on the verge to do something terribly dumb. He works on breaking free, but without success because the Culebra on top of him doesn’t indulge. When he lays without moving, surrendering to his brother, Richie loosens his grip a little for his blood to flow back correctly. Except, his brother doesn't move and is still straddling him. It’s almost torture whenever he moves even just slightly. If Richie continues, Seth’s body is going to react!  
  
“I’ll ask only once, and I'll let you only half a minute to answer that simple question. More?”  
“More?”  
“Do you want more, Seth?

The dark blue-grey eyes are drilling into his mind. Seth’s pretty sure Richie isn’t using his third eye, but it’s still disturbing to look into Richie's eyes and feeling him piercing his mind with so much ease. Richie won't give anything more if he finds some unwillingness on his face.  
Seth wants more. Of course, he wants more! He aches to feel... He almost begs for those gorgeous lips, and everything Richie wishes to grant him. He craves so much! But… Richie is his brother, and something is conflicting here. Does he have the right? Speaking about incest with the psychologist shows him how much wrong it is, how sick it is.  
  
“Do you?”  
“I’m not offering something I don’t want in the first place. You can be Seth, my beloved big brother, but if I didn’t want it in the first place, I wouldn’t be here! So, do you want more?”  
“I do.”

Seth bites his lips. It was so easy to fall for his needs, so easy to speak freely without thinking about consequences, that’s why when Richie’s face comes closer, Seth asks his brother to stop.

“What’s happening?”  
“Do you realize it could change everything? I mean, you and me…”  
“I don’t mind… would it be bad?”  
“I don’t know, I don’t fucking know… but I’m afraid.”  
“Don’t be. No change can fuck up our relationship. No fucking change… We'll always stick together, no matter what.”

He doesn’t have time to answer Richie's sentences because his brother is kissing him. Also, as soon as the awful chill to kiss his brother is gone, all his cells are thrilling with a strange realization because it’s not as gross as he thought it'll be. It’s oddly good to kiss a man furthermore his brother. It’s like a shred of evidence, an odd perfection, as his desires grow with each passing seconds like it was meant to be... As if Richie was his soulmate.  
It’s exhilarating, and soon his lips open themselves to taste more of Richie, to feel him with each fiber of his body and atoms… Somewhere along the way, Richie had closed his eyes, and he doesn’t know if his brother loves that discovery as much as himself, but suddenly Richie is out of reach. Seth breathes hard, calming himself before he screams of frustration because now that he had Richie, he couldn't step back!  
  
“Richard? Richie?!”  
“Don’t… come… _near me_.”  
  
The cold tone makes Seth trembles. Maybe his therapist was right, and that was a fucking bad idea! He wants to beg Richie to forgive him to ever had that idea in the first place! But when his eyes find his brother, something like his older brother’s instinct worries him. He had never seen Richie with that expression. Was it that bad?

“Are you ok?”  
“No… yeah… I don’t know.”  
“Do you want me to leave?”  
“No! Fuck, no! I just need to understand. That… that was fucking disturbing.”  
“I know… It was a mistake all along.”  
“The fuck!”

Seth startles when his brother starts to yell at him. He’s concerned because Richie is now more apt to control his emotions, but right now, they are going haywire as he comes closer to the bed with a furious gaze. Even if he promises himself to never fear his brother again, he cannot help it but freeze on the spot because Richie's eyes are dreadful!

“Don’t dare to say that twice, or I break every fucking bone of yours! Feelings are never a mistake when you give them to me! I just need time to adjust, or I’m going to rape you right now! And with my strength, I can do a lot of damages. So, stay there until I’m cool again.”

To be true, it wouldn’t be rape as the same thoughts bubble into his mind. It was almost primal and illogic, but he couldn’t care less if Richie manhandled him and fucked him fast and messy. Anyway, it’d surely be more enjoyable without the Culebra's force as Seth had never done that with a male. It’s not as if he is a real romantic, yet some gentleness can be pleasurable enough. Seth would prefer to go slow, and it’s better to wait some minutes to think before their craving speaks for them. Wait a minute, he's not even uncomfortable about the thought of taking the girl's role with Richie!  
  
“Did you already felt something like that?”  
“Never.”  
“Ok... I’m going to fuck you, Seth. Is it ok with you?”  
“Yeah, take it slow, Richie… I never thought about being… under.”  
“I know. And I will.”

As soon as Richie touches him anew, Seth is in a sort of trance. Something is really fucked up as Richie is his little brother, and they have touch themselves more than once and not only with their fists. It was never like that, even when Seth used their rare moment of tenderness to touch Richie in a way he shouldn’t have. That is entirely different! He moans as soon as Richie’s hands reach his skin under his clothes. He feels vulnerable and lost because he cums only with the expectations of more. They are fastly undressing because they cannot stop now, not until they touch more. And when Richie’s naked body is on top of him, Seth loses himself.

"Good God, Richie!"  
"Is it ok?"  
"Don't stop, it's ok... I think I'm going to cum again..."

They share a smile, then a languorous kiss because Seth needs it, and Richie will give everything to Seth for him to enjoy himself. He wants his brother to take pleasure in this because Seth is the only human he'll ever love this way.  
Seth can’t stop his trembling skin to pulse more as if he is trying the best drug in the world. That’s what Richie is! Without the bad trips and the emptiness. Seth feels full, even before Richie is reaching for his rear. Firstly, it’s strange. Nothing to really enjoy, even if his body is warming under Richie’s caresses.

“Relax, it’ll get better.”  
“Yeah, sorry… It's just...”  
"If you can't enjoy this, I promise I let you do me. But firstly, breathe in and relax. When you’re ready, I’ll take you on your back so I can see your face, and fucking kiss you because I’m hungry, and for once it’s not about blood. Well… maybe I can have some meanwhile, I fuck you.”  
“God, I’m not sure I’ll be able to go through it without losing my mind.”  
“I’ll get you back, don't worry. Now, if you’ll indulge, I think you’re ready for me. Are you afraid?”  
“A little, I think it’s normal... I’m hetero.”  
“Not for long. Look at me, Seth…”

Seth stares at his brother's face with a slight smile. He knows his brother would never harm him in any way. He's confident between Richie's arms, so he kisses the man right under his jaw and relaxes.  
Seth can now worship freely the man he loved since his childhood because he has the right to touch him and to slide his digits into Richie's hair and mess them. He can explore his face as much as he wants. And if all of this is wrong, then he doesn't mind giving his entire life to Xibalba, only if he can feel that safe for eternity.

He actually never saw Richie fuck someone. He doesn’t know what sort of sexual partner he could be, and Seth will learn it because Richie is opening his thighs with a delightful smile. Something is poking at his entrance, so Seth closes his eyes and breathes sharply. It's ok. He actually feels better if Richie is active because Richie wants to be here, and Seth won't spoil everything.  
He thought it’ll hurt. Though even if disturbing, it is less than the fucking odd bond they just discovered. It’s not painful at all. It’s strange, yeah, but that’s all. Seth’s calves land on Richie’s back to pull him into a kiss because he would never be satisfied enough.

He only nods when his brother starts to move slowly. He should be thankful to be high on that disturbing feeling because he takes no physical pleasure. He only loves Richie’s skin, Richie’s warmth, Richie’s kisses, and as a new addict, Seth can’t stop asking for more. His voice is a low rumble when Richie starts to go deeper and harder into him. He messes with his hair, sharing a short smile with his brother because Richie faces morphs into his snake one. Richie cannot keep control over himself like Seth cannot speak coherently anymore, and it’s now worse as the fangs of Richie sink into his skin.  
The bond is too strong, Richie loses himself into it, and his movements are now erratic and intense. His Culebra's strength is crushing Seth just enough for preventing him from moving, but that’s ok. Richie owns him, he is his, to use, to love, to feed onto. Seth moans louder because he starts to feel something, some pleasure between his thighs he cannot decipher. Because everything is so intense! He loves Richie even with that Culebra's face of his, and his lips smeared with blood.

"Focus on the pleasure, Seth. I know it's disturbing but focus on it. Eventually, you'll get used to it."  
"I try. I really try. It's... strange."  
"I know. I saw it. I promise next time we'll switch."  
"You don't have to."  
"That's right. I _want_ to. Never had any reason to try it beforehand, but with you, I'm ok to learn new things."

Each time he rocks his pelvis, Richie scaly skin brushes onto his dick, and that is weird! Seth thinks his senses are failing him because he cums passionately under Richie’s care.

"That's it. I'm glad you reached it."

Seth wishes he would be able to ask what his brother wanted to say, but he is drowning into the pleasure so much his voice seems unfamiliar to him. That's only when Richie's hips are going faster, Seth understands it wasn't just like any other pleasure he took beforehand. Because the wave is too strong to handle, and he screams while Richie cums in him.

He sighs, trying to stay awake, wondering if he could be used to it because it’s Richie, because it’s his fucking brother and because it’s the man he loves.

"You're ok?"

Seth doesn't think he'd be able to speak, so he nods, then kisses the man he loves so much! He's curious to taste his own blood on Richie's lips, to taste that strange mouth, his snake tongue, and fangs. But as the kiss heats between them, the fangs are nowhere to be found, and soon a human tongue matches his.

Seth knows he’s addicted to Richie. It’s too late for him. Whatever it is, whatever that strange attraction is coming from, he cannot stop it. As soon as Richie stops kissing him to let him catch his breath, he says these words, which are real for the first time in his entire life.

“Love you too, Seth.”  
“God, give me a last year with the sun, and I’ll embrace the night for you.”  
“Of course. Enjoy your last sunbathing because you're mine, and not even that fucking sun will stop me from turning you. You teach me how to love… what a strange thing.”  
“I’m sorry it’s a sick love.”  
“Sick-love is the best for an ill-man.”  
“My ill-Snakeman.”  
“Definitely yours…"

When Richie starts to move, his calves press on his brother's hips to get him to stay still for some more time. He wants to stay like that until the end of the world.

“I'll definitely get hard another time if you don't let me go. Did you enjoy yourself?”  
“Not sure…”

Seth got an orgasm, sure, but he's not actually positive he liked everything he had experienced. Maybe a second time will help him to understand where he stands, considering he's convinced he came because of Richie more than anything else! Richie's stare slit into a snake's pupil before he goes sucking on his bloody wounds to read his thoughts. While his brother laps on his skin, Seth can feel Richie's excitation growing.

“I’ll train that ass... You’ll like it, Seth. Because I fucking want to see you ask for it, beg for it, and love it as much as I love to do you.”  
“So… that’s the type of sex-partner you are.”  
“Yeah. And I need to train you hard if we want to send an invitation to some Asian delicacies…”  
“God, Richie!”  
“Don’t you find him _cute_? No… sweet, I’m pretty sure you said _sweet and cute_!”  
“Fucking lizard’s ears!”

Richie smiles, then laughs when Seth bites his arm and squabbles with him like they were ten. Every sourness they got is now behind them, and Richie is looking at the future with newfound happiness because Seth is his. Seth will be his forever... They are brothers, best friends, and way more now, and he proves it with a thrust into Seth's ass.

"If you can't be hard in the thirty next seconds, I think I'll begin your training. But if you can, I want to know what sort of sex-partner you'll be with me."  
"I think I'll be too vanilla for you."  
"I don't mind. You're no ass to fuck whenever I fancy it. You're my mate, Seth. I can endure _vanilla_ for your sake!"  
"Endure?! Do I say I'll have to endure your disinhibited _kinks_?!"  
"I'm pretty sure you have some too. Only you never associate them with another man or two other men..."  
"Ok, I _surrender_! Scott is... pleasing to the eyes, but don't count on me to _share_ my ass with another man!"

The yellowish color of Richie's eyes is perturbing. He can almost hear him hiss like a real snake as he comes closer to his neck.

"No way. That ass is _mine_ , as mine will only be yours. If you ever chose to get fucked by another man, I'll _rip him open_. Do you hear me clear?"  
"Are you jealous?"  
"I think I'd be. So, don't anger me, or there will be blood. The only thing I'll accept without me being involved is a woman. If you need some boobs and soft curves, take what you want, or need."  
"Thank you."  
"I know you're straight, and I couldn't care less about women. I know I'll always be first."

Richie smiles his honest smile for him. Seth traces it with his index finger, then they lock their foreheads.

“Richie… it was time to find it…”  
“It?”  
“Our El Rey…”

Richie chuckles with some unusual happiness, and Seth cannot help but fall more in love if it’s even possible.

“God, I love you so much.”  
“I’m glad you do. You’re the only person I want the love of.”  
“I’m sorry about it.”

His brother jumps at the words. He hadn’t realized he was caressing Seth’s wrist right over the ugly scar, which almost took his brother’s life. Anyway, he knows Seth had suffered from his feelings toward him, and since they are now closer than they should in front of the social virtues, he knows Seth will never do it again. He kisses the wrist, looking deep into Seth’s eyes.

“I’m glad, for once, I’m the one to patch you.”  
“You always patched me. That’s why I fell in love in the first place.”  
“Seth…”

Richie comes into Seth’s arms because the words are too good to be true. He knows he’s not a healthy person. He knows he’s crazy sometimes and sees life and people in his own way. Seth is his shield. Behind him, he feels somewhat normal, sane, and happy. He never thought he gave anything back to Seth apart troubles and worries, but his brother has just said otherwise. Cradled into Seth’s arms, he is safe. He feels like himself and cherished. For the rest of his life, he wants to taste that. The sweet feeling of their normalcy because they are Gecko, and they never do things like everyone else!


End file.
